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Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

Olga Tokarczuk,

Antonia Lloyd-Jones (Translator)

Start date: March 15, 2022

Finish date: April 15, 2022

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Jan 30, 2023 Tony rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: novels, crime, audio, translated-fiction, adapted-for-film, setting-europe

This might be a case of the film ("Spoor") being slightly better than the novel (which I read first). Both revolve around a 60ish single woman living in Poland's Kłodzko Valley, near the Czech border. A retired engineer, she spends her days as a part-time English teacher, caretaker of vacation homes, ardent astrologer, amateur translator of William Blake, and self-appointed guardian of the local wildlife. It's the last of these that really gets her riled up, as she berates members of the local h This might be a case of the film ("Spoor") being slightly better than the novel (which I read first). Both revolve around a 60ish single woman living in Poland's Kłodzko Valley, near the Czech border. A retired engineer, she spends her days as a part-time English teacher, caretaker of vacation homes, ardent astrologer, amateur translator of William Blake, and self-appointed guardian of the local wildlife. It's the last of these that really gets her riled up, as she berates members of the local hunting club, and writes letter after letter to the police about out of season hunting and the like. One by one, members of the hunting club start turning up dead, with mysterious signs that deer and other wildlife were present. Are these accidents or are the animals really taking revenge, as she insists upon to anyone who will listen?

This all sounds pretty promising, but the writing was just too flat and inert for me. There are some lovely descriptions of the natural landscape, but there are also lengthy tedious astrological passages, and then the periodic outburst. Throughout, we are meant to see how the voice of elderly woman is ignored, and how the old boys club network dominates the small-town social and political spheres. At the same time, her animal-rights rants and devotion to astrology make it all too easy for people to tune her out. Throw in the nonstandard capitalization (based on Blake's stylistic tic), and it was all just a bit of a slog for me. We read this for our bookclub, and all eight of us found it quite underwhelming.

I do wonder to what extent the author's personal voice is present -- she has lived in that same area, is of roughly the same generation as her protagonist, and is an avowed vegetarian. While sticking quite closely to the book's plot, the film has a little more depth to it thanks to the excellent actors who fill out the rather sketchy characters described in the book. Shot in what appears to be almost entirely existing, natural light, it's also quite good at capturing the tone of the landscape and its fauna, the isolated houses, and the passing of seasons. ...more

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Jul 19, 2020 Jen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This book is mysterious and beautiful and serves a sense of cosmic justice. What does balance in nature mean and are humans evil? When can bad acts be justified and when can’t they? Highly recommend.

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